This week sees the launch of the Royal Mail Special Stamps Yearbook 2015.
The limited edition 64-page book, designed by Purpose, celebrates the people and personalities behind the significant historical or cultural anniversaries featured within the Special Stamps series over the past year.
The key challenge was unifying the 14 different subject areas – from kings to comedians, architects to inventors, free-thinkers to fictional characters – to create a strong creative thread throughout. Purpose took inspiration from the iconic profile of the Queen’s head featured on all British stamp designs.
On definitive stamps, the Queen’s head remains as the single, central image, while pictorial special stamps use a small silhouette in the top corner, creating a strong association between stamps and profiles. This became the foundation for our creative approach which helped to link the various subject areas and content throughout the book.
Each chapter opens with a large profile portrait of a person or character closely associated with the topic and supported with a wealth of illustrations and commentary from an established expert in the field.
The Yearbook includes all of the past year’s Special Stamps and is available to buy now from the Royal Mail website – http://shop.royalmail.com/christmas-2015/2015-year-book-/invt/20150465